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…so the Merchant let us all move in, and- oh, hello there. I was just telling everyone how I got my new place. Don’t worry, I’ll let you know soon enough.

On with the goodness!

You know what’s been missing from my TV this month?

ZOMBIES.

TODAY’S FILM: THE ZOMBIE DIARIES

Well well well, hello Zombie Diaries. I wanted to watch you last year during AHORROR, but time got in the way- one year later, and time still kept getting in the way, but I’m making time for you now, so you better love me and DON’T YOU DARE GO TO YOUR MOTHER’S HOUSE GODDAMNIT SHE’S GONNA FILL YOUR HEAD WITH LIES, POISON, AND YOUR SWEATERS ARE GONNA ALL HAVE CAT HAIR ON THEM GODDAMNIT WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY THAT WOMAN IS EVIL.

I’ve seen a lot of zombie movies in my day, and this particular one ranks high on my list. For the first time since the original Dawn of the Dead, I felt like I was watching a zombie movie where the zombies took a backseat to the actual characters- granted, we don’t have everything spelled out about our main characters in this one, but what we do see is how people take deal with things when there are dead folks trying to eat their brains. If I can be serious for a moment, what makes a zombie movie a good zombie movie is the characters, and not the zombies themselves.

This is where The Zombie Diaries succeeds.

“Now, Brick,” you say, “didn’t you hate Diary of the Dead? And, if my memory serves correctly, isn’t this the same format?”

No, it’s not.

While Diary of the Dead relied on a spotty narrative and cookie cutter shenanigans, real people occupy The Zombie Diaries, and it’s all the better for it. This is how the movie breaks down- it’s based off of footage taken during this particular zombie outbreak in the UK.

And, it’s pretty damn powerful.

Everything you see is strictly via handheld cameras- there’s none of the posturing that was evident in Diary of the Dead; what we as viewers see is what everyone in the movie sees, and that’s that. To say anything else would spoil the movie completely… and it’s one of the few times this month where I really want to stay “normal” and not go off the rails about something. The narrative is split up due to film footage and segmented between the “Outbreak”, the “Survivors”, and the aftermath.. and how everything connects isn’t pretty. It’s the little things that make this movie work- the things that you haven’t seen a zombie movie do respectably in quite some time.

Seriously!

Outside of “BRAINS! BRAINS! I HOPE SOMEONE EATS SOME BRAINS!”, have you really thought about a zombie movie?

Take in the fact that the characters want to survive oh so much,

Take in the fact that the world is overrun with the living dead.

And take in the fact that, hey- maybe it’s not the zombies you should be worried about.

Just saying.

So, yes…. The Zombie Diaries.

Best zombie movie you’ll see in a damn good while.

…who said MORROR wasn’t going to surprise people? I ACTUALLY LIKE SOMETHING!